BWW Interviews: Cori Laemmel's THE THEATER BUG Unveils THE MOST AMAZING ANYTHING OF EVERTIME

Cori Laemmel would be the first to tell you: 2011 has been kind of a crazy year for her. She made her debut with Tennessee Repertory Theatre with her critically-acclaimed turn in Yankee Tavern; with four of her talented friends, she brought MAS Nashville to life, creating and performing in two stellar nights of cabaret - with more in store; and she launched her theater training program for younger actors aka The Theater Bug. Oh, and she was in the audience for her actor husband Tyson Laemmel's many performances, as well.

Somehow, the multi-talented Laemmel, who has to be much better organized than she'll have you believe, has survived the wacky year - in fact, she's thrived in  2011 - and she and her Theater Bug cohorts are hard at work on their first, full-scale production: The Most Amazing Anything of Evertime, featuring a cast of stage veterans (sure, many of her cast members are young, but they sport resumes older actors would give their eye-teeth for...) and newcomers all focused on delivering what promises to be a memorable night at the theater.

The Most Amazing Anything of Evertime will be presented at The Larry Keeton Theatre, 108 Donelson Pike, opening Friday, August 5 and continuing through August 14. Showtime is at 7 p.m. August 5, 6, 11, 12 and 13, with 2 p.m. matinees on August 6, 7 and 14.

Laemmel sat down during one of her rare moments of downtime to give us some insight into the show and into the altogether amazing accomplishments of The Theater Bug in its very young life...

Give me a brief synopsis of the show. The Most Amazing Anything of Evertime takes place in the imagination of eight-year-old Wimsey St. Claire and her best friend Storey as they search for the ever illusive "Evertime."

In the words of Wimsey, "You can't draw a map to Evertime because it is a time and not a place. It is not an o'clock time or a nap time or a dinner time. It is the time that is always preceded by 'Once Upon A.' That's what time it is."

As we meet the rest of the colorful characters of Miss Thistle's third grade class, the girls discover that there might be someone who is in more need of a happily ever after than they are, and that with a little imagination they can help make that dream come true. With a fantastic cast of some of Nashville's finest young actors, this show promises to be a great night of fun for the whole family.

How did the show come to be? The show started out as a short story written for my best friend since childhood. The characters are named after the names we chose for the little girls we someday hope to have. When looking for a play for the Bug's inaugural show, I saw a great opportunity to expand it in to a script. The show really has no boundaries, which allowed me to write for the talent that came out. Many of the roles were created after auditions. The kids were so inspiring.

Has the Theater Bug developed as you had hoped? Honestly, no. We are so far above every hope I had for the program. I never dreamed things would have come together so quickly and with so much love for the community.

I started exploring the idea of The Theater Bug last fall, thinking it would be at least a year before anything ever came of it. Jane Schnelle and Kate Adams Johnson of The Larry Keeton Theatre approached me and asked me if I would like to make a home there. It was such a huge gift. They have treated us like family. We feel so fortunate. I knew I needed to jump on the opportunity so we put together a trial program for that spring. We had 40 kids in the performance and an audience close to 200. I have never felt so proud. The support from friends, family, and community members, and the passion of the students continues to amaze me. I can't wait to see where we will go next.

What's been the biggest surprise as you've proceeded with your Theater Bug project? I think the biggest surprise came during our second program, something we called "Extreme Theater." In this program, we took a group of extremely talented young writers, along with a guide with a guide, and spent one eight-hour day writing a short (30 minute) play. You would not believe what they came up with! Brilliant, funny...you would never believe it was written in a day...by kids. The following weekend we auditioned for the show, rehearsed and performed in two days. This I didn't believe could be done. Not only did they pull it off, but it was the most fun I have had in an audience in a long time. I will never stop being surprised by what these young people can do.

What's been the biggest challenge thus far? The organizational aspect can be a big challenge for me, but I am blessed with a phenomenal board president who has been such a guide, and a husband who is the "file folder for everything" type. I couldn't do it without their help. It is also tough just getting the information out there. I know a lot of theaters struggle with this. Sometimes the biggest challenge is just getting the information in to the kids hands.

What does the future have in store for Theater Bug? Our hopes for the coming year include a home school production geared solely to the Nashville home school community, a series of workshops taking place on Saturdays involving all different aspects of theatre-from costumes to script writing, and most importantly, more and more incredible instructors joining the team. The Bug has been so blessed with teachers like Laura Thomas-Sonn, Catherine McTamaney, Kate Adams-Johnson, Jennifer Landes-Vann and Marin Miller. I hope to see that family of talent continue to grow.

 

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